LGBT Activism and the Making of Europe

"The LGTBQ movement is not very much studied in social movement research. This very interesting collection contributes to fill this gap, which is all the more puzzling given the relevance of this movement in the struggle for civil rights and the deepening of democracy at different territorial levels. The contributions address an interesting variety of countries, geographical levels, but also areas of LGTBQ's activities - from legal practices to Queer festivals". Professor Donatella della Porta, European University Institute, Florence, Italy

"Is Europe gay? Ayoub and Paternotte offer exceptional insights into how gay rights came to be defined as a particularly European commitment. The articles in this well designed collection show LGBT recognition politics acquired such surprising symbolic weight, as bottom up claims-making and organizing from social movements and civil society organizations are met with top-down practical policies and international political posturing by both opponents and advocates. The overall argument is compelling, as the authors show how specific meaning-making practices drew the boundaries of modern and enlightened "Europe" around support for human rights for LGBT people. The cases chosen are excellent illustrations of how such a criterion of belonging to Europe then resonates at every level from foreign policy to personal identities". Myra Marx Ferree, University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA

"How did 'Europe' come to be seen as an advocate of LGBT rights, in both global debates and the self-understanding of many Europeans? These wide-ranging essays illuminate how LGBT activists advanced this unlikely idea in the very process of mobilizing around it, and were in turn both deeply shaped by their association with the idea of Europe and implicated in the exclusions that idea fostered. An innovative and invaluable intervention". George Chauncey, Samuel Knight Professor of History, Yale University, USA